156 OF RIDGING. 



SECT. I. Of Ridging. 



THE general advantages to be derived from ridges, are 

 very ably stated by Lord Kaines, in his Gentleman Farm- 

 er, (Chap. IV. Sect. 3). It is only necessary, therefore, in 

 this place, to explain those more minute particulars, which 

 have not hitherto been so much dwelt on, and which, with- 

 out the assistance of a number of practical farmers, it would 

 not have been in my power sufficiently to have elucidated. 



On dry soils, ridges are of use merely as lines for mark- 

 ing out the operations of the plough, and the sowing and 

 reaping of the crop; the nature of the soil, which is apt to 

 suffer by want of moisture, rendering any sort of draining, 

 which the furrows might afford, prejudicial rather than ad- 

 vantageous. Indeed, where grain is sown by drill-ma- 

 chines, ridges are not required for sowing the grain, as the 

 drill itself^ or a marker attached to it, regulates the opera- 

 tion : lines, however, may be of use in sowing the grass- 

 seeds afterwards. But ridges are essential in wet soils, ope- 

 rating as open drains, without the assistance of which, the 

 crops would rarely be productive in rainy seasons. It is of 

 infinite importance, therefore, to the farmer, to be fully 

 master of the rules, by which ridges can be formed to the 

 best advantage. This subject may be considered under the 

 following heads: 1. The proper length of ridges ; 2. Their 

 breadth; 3. Their straightness, and the best mode of alter- 

 ing the shape of crooked ridges ; 4. Their height ; and, 5. 

 The advantage of ridging diagonally where the ground is 

 steep. 



